1866 $1 Motto MS(PCGS#6959)

August 2018 ANA U.S. Coins Auction Philadelphia, PA

Auctioneer

Stack's Bowers

Lot Number

3475

Grade

MS61

Price

1,560

Lot Description

1866 Liberty Seated Silver Dollar. OC-1. Rarity-2. Repunched Date, Doubled Die Reverse. MS-61 (NGC). Pretty golden-apricot iridescence blankets both sides, the upper obverse periphery further adorned with swirls of olive and powder blue. This is an overall sharply struck example with a pronounced semi-prooflike finish and uncommonly smooth surfaces for the assigned grade. The circulation strike 1866 silver dollar has a limited mintage of 48,900 pieces, which only begins to tell the story of the issue's elusiveness in numismatic circles. Silver dollars did not circulate domestically in the United States during the early Reconstruction era, a situation that became particularly acute in the early 1850s when the immense quantities of gold mined in California upset the delicate balance between gold and silver in the global market. The bullion value of the United States' silver dollar soon outstripped its face value, but even so the weight of this denomination remained unchanged even after the Act of February 21, 1853 reduced the weight of smaller silver coins such as the quarter and half dollar. Instead, the Mint continued to strike silver dollar to the 412.5-grain weight standard, issues such as the 1866 being used almost exclusively in the nation's export trade. In essence, most silver dollar issues of the Liberty Seated design type were predecessors to the trade dollar, circulation strikes of which were produced from 1873 to 1878. Given the paucity of examples in today's market, it is obvious that most 1866 silver dollars were exported. The few survivors likely represent coins that remained in government hands until a decline in bullion prices during the early to mid 1870s allowed their release. The coin offered here managed to avoid not only exportation but also domestic circulation, and it is rare, thus. The fact that this is the first year that the motto IN GOD WE TRUST appears on the silver dollar further enhances the appeal of this significant coin. Provenance: From The Des Moines Collection. NGC Census: 6; 37 finer in this category (MS-67 finest). The unusually large (for the issue) number of grading events in NGC MS-63 and MS-64 is strongly suggestive of multiple resubmissions. PCGS# 6959. NGC ID: 24Z9. Click here for certification details from NGC.